At the time of writing this piece, the online meeting of the almost-defunct INDIA alliance is about to commence.
The meeting convened by the Congress aims to discuss contentious issues ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, scheduled to begin on July 21.
Now, an optimist might spew venom at the author for using the word defunct! “Isn’t it still running and intact?”
On paper, it is, but the future of this amalgam of contradictions has always been teetering on the brink of demise right from the very outset.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has officially withdrawn from the alliance. Well, after it decides to go solo in Bihar (that goes to the polls later this year), the writing was on the wall. Yet the ‘brainchildren’ were hoping against hope.
The Trinamool Congress, led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been sulking over the Grand Old Party’s game of one-upmanship and has time and again been quite vocal about it.
One of the founders of the alliance, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from JD(U), bid adieu much earlier than the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The reason was his disappointment at not being appointed as the Convener.
There were reports that Mamata’s party would skip Saturday’s meeting, but later her nephew and heir to her throne, Abhishek Banerjee, was nominated to attend the meeting.
Reluctance galore, and that is the apt phrase to define the vexatious situation the alliance finds itself in.
But wasn’t that a foregone conclusion? The idea of forming the conglomerate was to stem the Narendra Modi tide in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
However, the efforts came a cropper – of course, the BJP received a jolt in terms of numbers and had to rely on TDP and JD (U) to form the government, but wasn’t it enough to infer that the alliance had the last laugh?
Yes, INDIA bagged 234 seats, but internal feud and political animosity at the state level ensured that there was hardly any headway.
And let’s not set aside the fact that it was not an imperishable alliance owing to a dearth of unanimity over seat adjustments that gave the NDA the much-needed impetus it needed.
Mamata refusing to acquiesce to the Congress demand in West Bengal was one such example of consensus being thrown into oblivion.
Around and post the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, infirmity within the alliance paved the way for a BJP triumph in Odisha, Haryana and Maharashtra.
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Even in the assembly by-polls, parties like Congress, AAP, TMC and CPI (M) preferred going solo.
It’s not at all wishful thinking that a collaboration thriving on camaraderie at the national level and fierce rivalry in states is bound to die its natural death, and it seems – the end is near, or shall we say the INDIA alliance has slipped into a coma?
One may continue to persevere, but with AAP’s exit and Mamata’s unpredictability, the alliance may be walking a tightrope.
But deep down, it may not be unfounded to state, “INDIA alliance is already dead.”
